Report on the Celebrations at the British Library submitted by Jayesh Navin Shah a JAINpedia Volunteer
On 15th April, JAINpedia held a series of events at the British Library to celebrate Mahavir Jayanti, the festival marking the birth of Mahavira, the founder of present-day Jainism. The day’s events included storytelling sessions by highly acclaimed story-teller Seema Anand, a dance recital in the Bharat Natyam dance form, performed by founders of the Prakruti Dance School, and art workshops run by artist Sophie Dave.
The day was a considerable success, with over 500 people, Jains and non-Jains, turning out to participate. The classical dance recital filled the foyer of the British Library, with many passers by stopping to watch the whole performance, which involved four dances. The storytelling and art workshops attracted a large audience of parents and children, enabling younger and older generations to learn more about Jainism.
These events tied in with the ongoing exhibition of Jain manuscripts in the Sir John Ritblat Gallery in the British Library, which also had an influx of visitors throughout the day. JAINpedia volunteers were on hand giving people free guided tours of the exhibits. Many who took the tours had several probing questions about Jain culture and teachings, and left wanting to find out more about Jainism in their own time.
I was one of the many volunteers helping out with the running of the events, for example counting the visitor numbers or directing people to the displays. I also had a go at giving some of the tours, which was a fairly daunting experience. I had been briefed on the manuscripts when I visited the display the weekend before, so knew the content, but this didn’t make having to explain it to others in plain English much easier. This was especially difficult since many Jain stories are filled with metaphors, and it is often the morals and ethics behind the stories that are important, rather than the somewhat fantastical stories themselves. Getting other people’s insights into the meaning behind these Jain texts is one of the reasons I am looking forward to the eventual launch of the JAINpedia website.
There was also a need to tailor the explanations to the audience. For some visitors, seeing the Jain manuscripts was the first encounter they had with Jainism, so the tour had to start with the basic principles of Jainism, such as Ahimsa (non-violence). By contrast, one of the families I gave a tour to were already very knowledgeable about Jainism, so for them I tried to concentrate on the historical and cultural significance of the manuscripts (e.g. the fact they are written on handmade paper) rather than the religious significance.
Volunteering for JAINpedia has nonetheless been very fulfilling. Once I gave my first tour, I realised just how much I had learnt about Jainism through my brief involvement with the project. Also, given the epic scale of the undertaking – a five-year project to digitize 5,000 images – I 
feel quite lucky to have been around at the right time and place to take part. I know that JAINpedia are still looking for new volunteers, so would thoroughly recommend volunteering, especially to people like me that started out with a superficial understanding of Jain heritage and culture.
Those of you who have been following the JAINpedia project will know that there are simultaneous exhibitions of Jain manuscripts currently going on in the Victoria & Albert Museum and the British Library. The collection in the British Library is, in my view, the far richer of
the two because it covers a greater time period (c.13th to c.15th) and has a wider range of exhibits in terms of art style and content – it is the largest collection of Jain artefacts outside of the Indian sub-continent.
The British Library display was originally due to end on 30th April 2011, but fortunately this has been extended to run until 30th June 2011, so there is still a chance to see it. Why not even take a trip to the British Library over the upcoming Bank Holiday weekends?
By Jayesh Navin Shah
JAINpedia volunteer
Note:Anyone wishing to volunteer for the JAINpedia Project should contact the Project Manager, Bansri Mehta via email at bansri.mehta@jainpedia.org